Saint Cloud State Public Health (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Public Health
- Public university
- Saint Cloud, MN
- About 15 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Saint Cloud State public health graduates earn less than graduates of most public health programs nationally, $32,830 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $17,850 in federal loans, less than at 86% of public health programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Minnesota median of $38,475.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all public health bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Saint Cloud State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,168 less than the Minnesota median. Several Minnesota programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota public health program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 47% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $189 a month, or 6.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
88% of graduates (21 of 24) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the St. Cloud area are about 12% below the national average, so a $32,830 salary here buys what about $37,463 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to public health, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Medical and Health Services Managers
$122,700Median pay in Minnesota. 11,350 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 24% from 2025 to 2035, with about 62,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Compliance Officers
$85,920Median pay in Minnesota. 6,140 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$89,950Median pay in Minnesota. 6,760 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
$96,990Median pay in Minnesota. 2,460 people work in this job in Minnesota. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 19% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Saint Cloud State
Public Health ranks 28th of 33 bachelor's programs at Saint Cloud State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($77,792), Medical Laboratory Science ($74,147), and Nursing ($74,111).
Other public health bachelor's programs near Saint Cloud
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,830 one year after graduating and $48,320 five years after. The median across public health bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $38,475.
The median federal loan balance is $17,850, which ranks the lowest of 7 public health bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $189 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 54% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 63%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Minnesota programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 88% (21 of 24) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Minnesota comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the public health program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024